November 25, 2010

-- I am not a mega-huge fan of Train, but I love their 2001 hit, Drops of Jupiter. Honestly, I think that's the only other song I know by them. Nonetheless, they've made a comeback with this song.... take a listen.

November 22, 2010

- I absolutely adore Corrine Bailey Rae. Her music is so serene and relatable. I love every single song on both of her records. This song, Closer, is one of my faves on her album The Sea. It's both flirty and sexy. I also like how simple this video is. Enjoy.

Behind the Scenes of Closer

Random sidenote: I also love this lady's hair! I have hair envy whenever I see her. :-)

November 20, 2010

Goparasailing - Although I'm deathly afraid of drowning, I love that thrill I get when the rollercoaster drops, or when the car drives down a hill.

Have a walk-in closet- I want to neatly organize my my clothing by item, such as all of my dresses, Skirts, tops, pants, coats, etc in their own sections.

Have an amazingly gorgeous and beautifully decorated wedding- by David Tutera.... if I could win a free wedding by him, that's even better.

Own/rent a summer house- somewhere close to water.

Go horseback riding -- in an open field or on the beach.

Be a contestant on The Amazing Race--I hope I'm not on an episode where one of the team members has to have their hair shaved off, but I'll do any task just to get the experience of a lifetime. My friend Malinda would make an awesome teammate. We'll yell at each other until a task gets done and it'll push us more.

Working happily at my dream job-- although, I am still unsure what that would be.

Start playing the clarinet again-- I played when I was 13/14 yrs old. I stopped when I got to high school b/c I didn't know where to buy a reed (silly, I know). Anyhoo, I would love something to do with my spare time. It'll keep my brain and fingers up to par.

Parents who are not willing to vaccinate their children against chicken pox will host chicken pox parties if their child somehow acquires the disease, invite other parents with similar views against vaccines, in hopes that there child will contract the virus also. (

I could not see myself endangering my child like this. Yea, we all hear that chicken pox is "not that bad" and many of people recover from it, but the virus can cause serious complications like, neurological infections, pneumonia, or other bacterial infections {Source}. Serious complications can also arise from normally acquiring the disease, and I would just feel way too guilty about exposing my child to it in the first place, if it could have been prevented.

I remember having chicken pox when I was in the 4th grade, although I was vaccinated. As an emigrant to the U.S. I had to be vaccinated for many diseases. It was also a mandatory school order to have school-aged children vaccinated {Source} and {Source}. This vaccination program has helped in the decrease of pandemics like measles, whooping cough, tetanus, rubella and a few others. I wish some people weren't so against vaccines. They have done more good than harm. I guess it's just a part of life...

People live. Disease strikes. They die. The end.

Sounds harsh. I don't know. I think I'm done with this post.

But seriously though, why not get vaccinated against something that is preventable? It saves you from all the hassle of paying sitters to care for your child, or even missing work days from caring for your child yourself.... think about it.

November 17, 2010

My palate has experienced one of the most amazing flavors it has ever experienced.... The buttery-ness of a Townhouse cracker, the creaminess of brie cheese, and the sweet, yet kickin' flavor of Raspberry jalapeño jelly.

November 16, 2010

-- This is technically a "video of the day post", but I wanted to stick to its original title. The description below is taken from the original poster (it came along with the embedding code). I was so pleased to see this video a few days ago because the issue of shade in regards to skin color is definitely still something huge in our society today. I'm still hearing people say things like "That dark skinned girl...", or "that light skinned girl...."; or "Is she prettier than me even though I'm lighter than she is?". Even worst things than that.... like, "How did that dark-skinned Black girl get with that White guy?" and all sorts of ridiculous madness that upsets me beyond belief.

-- Honestly, I struggle with the issue of shade as well. My face is always darker than the rest of my body and it irks me to no end. I hate being out in the sun for too long for fear of becoming darker. I just think it's unsightly to have a ridiculously dark face and a lighter body. I guess we all have our insecurities, huh? I always knew that the shade of skin was an issue for a few other races, not just Blacks, and this video addresses that as well.

Description: This short TV documentary is an introduction to the issue of shadeism, the discrimination that exists between the lighter-skinned and darker-skinned members of the same community. This documentary short looks specifically at how it affects young women within the African, Caribbean, and South Asian diasporas. Through the eyes and words of 5 young womyn and 1 little girl - all females of colour - the film takes us into the thoughts and experiences of each. Overall, 'Shadeism' explores where shadeism comes from, how it directly affects us as womyn of colour, and ultimately, begins to explore how we can move forward through dialogue and discussion.

November 14, 2010

I met God's Will on a Halloween nightHe was dressed as a bag of leavesIt hid the braces on his legs at first

His smile was as bright as the August sunWhen he looked at meAs he struggled down the driveway, it almostMade me hurt

Will don't walk too goodWill don't talk too goodHe won't do the things that the other kids do,In our neighborhood

[Chorus:]I've been searchin', wonderin', thinkin'Lost and lookin' all my lifeI've been wounded, jaded, loved and hatedI've wrestled wrong and rightHe was a boy without a fatherAnd his mother's miracleI've been readin', writin', prayin', fightin'I guess I would be stillYeah, that was untilI knew God's Will

Will's mom had to work two jobsWe'd watch him when she had to work lateAnd we'd all laugh like I hadn't laughedSince I don't know when

Hey Jude was his favorite songAt dinner he'd ask to prayAnd then he'd pray for everybody in the world but him

[Chorus]

Before they moved to CaliforniaHis mother said, they didn't think he'd liveAnd she said each day that I have him, well it's justanother giftAnd I never got to tell her, that the boyShowed me the truthIn crayon red, on notebook paper, he'd writtenMe and God love you

I've been searchin', prayin', wounded, jadedI guess I would be stillYeah that was until...I met God's Will on a Halloween nightHe was dressed as a bag of leaves

November 12, 2010

-- Yes, yes.... another Celebrity Crushin' post. Today's crush is James Blunt. His eyes are so strikingly green and gorgeous and I love his songs. I'm usually not a fan of scruffy men, but... Yea, he's definitely "beautiful". ツ

--So, James Blunt has a new album. I want to get it, but I would like to hear some of the songs first. I remember going to his concert on October 10, 2006 at Radio City Music Hall with my roomie freshman year. I only knew one of his songs ("You're Beautiful") but fell in love with all of the others by the end of the concert. The concert featured songs from his debut album, Back to Bedlam. I think many of the songs on that album spoke a lot about his military service in Kosovo.

This is one of my favorite songs/videos from Back to Bedlam: "Goodbye My Lover"

-- He also released another album in 2007 entitled All the Lost Souls. This album was definitely more emotion-filled than the first, but I think he stayed true to his singing style from the first album, which I admire. He has released a third album on November 8th, and I'm so anxious to hear it. I hope it's just as good as the first two.

-- Here are pics from the concert in 2006:

-- We were sitting in the third mezzanine and were hoping to be those lucky people to win seats up close, but we were not that lucky. We were, however, REALLY excited to be at that concert (as you can probably see in the last photo).

November 7, 2010

So, I was watching Thursdays (11/4/10) episode of Grey's Anatomy. In an effort to teach the residents of the hospital trauma techniques to deal with tough situations that may arise in the hospital setting, one of the doctors/characters of Grey's anatomy had them rescue the "patients". The residents had to take care of them until a helicopter came to rush them to a nearby hospital. None of this was real, as they worked with dummies and this so-called helicopter didn't even exist. One resident got really frustrated at all of the 'fakeness' and the fact that it had started pouring rain and there was obviously no helicopter coming, and many of the 'patients' were 'dying'. She decided to take matters into her own hands and rush the only '2 patients' that were still 'alive' to the hospital. This is how the scene following her decision played out. I thought it was hilarious... which is why I'm being lame and blogging about it now...

Owen: "Kepner...."

Owen: "...This ambulance was involved in the accident and is no longer running!"

November 6, 2010

I've loved this song for so long and didn't know there was an actual video for it. I don't really get how the video ties into the song, so I'm really posting this for the song itself. I have the a Capella version on my iTunes and it sounds even more ah-mazing. Her voice is so crisp and clear. Enjoy.

November 5, 2010

What do you love and remember most about your grandmother? Is it that she read you bedtime stories when you spent the weekend at her house? Or, that she was always a little nicer that your parents were sometimes? Or, was it that she always seemed to have something sweet for you to eat when you came to visit?

I don't have any of these memories. That's because I never spent time with my grandmom. I did meet her once in my lifetime, however. I was about 11 yrs old. My mom was sent me to London, England to spend a month with my grandaunt and to visit on of the families that took care of me when I was just an infant in Jamaica. (sidebar: that was a lovely visit. The lady's name was Beverly, just like my mom. She told me stories about when I began learning to walk, talk and write. She said she had pictures of me back then, but never got around to finding them in the week that I spent with her.)

Anyhoo, back to my month in England. I think I went in August. The plan was to stay my grandaunt, but spend a week or so with my grandmother, and a bit of time with the lady, Beverly and her family as well. A few days before my departure for England, I remember my grandmother called and told my mom that I could no longer come to visit and stay with her for a week b/c she was going to a week long church convention and she wouldn't have time to care for me. That was a little disheartening, but my mom assured me that everything will be okay. So, I went to England, only with the intentions of staying with my grandaunt. I got to site see and things like that and my grandaunt fed me REALLY well. :-) I also fell in love with James Bond around that time and this British soap opera (I don't remember the name) b/c they had like a month long James Bond Marathon, or something like that and not a day went by that my grandaunt didn't watch that soap opera.

The penultima (second to last) week that I was in England, my grandmother decided to pop up at my grandaunt's apartment to spend time with us. It was awkward, and the connection was strained. I don't remember much from her visit, maybe because it was not that enjoyable. I do remember however, that she got my sisters and I these little gold watches. I wore mine for a short while, until my skin became unhappy and itchy.

That's the only memory I have of my grandmother. The first AND last time meeting her. So, I don't have 'happy stories to tell about grandma' like many people who have lived during their grandparent's lifetime do.... oh well. I guess that's how life goes sometimes.

November 1, 2010

I'm pretty sure that a year or two from now, I'll only be in touch with.... one or two friends from Drew. Facebook is a lame excuse for communication and it really does not represent true friendship.

My college years were fun and the people I called friends at the time, did make it that way. But honestly, how many of them will remain in contact after? It's already been 6 months and I've spoken on the phone with ONE person. It's a part of life. The same happened in grade school and high school. It's like, you were forced to be in an environment with these people so to appease yourself and develop social skills, you gained acquaintances. But, as you move on in life and reach different stages in life, in terms of career, education and family, those friends disappear.

I just went to the calendar app on my iPod to check out the day that a certain date falls on. As soon as the app opened, I quickly pressed the forward arrow key trying to skip to November and surprisingly found myself looking at January 2011's calendar. Then it clicked! It's November now. Omg! October just FLEW on by! Wow. I'm amazed. But I kind of like this month. It brings about brisk weather (not that I enjoy it), but it's different. Life forms will die only to reveal new ones next year. The leaves will continue to change and the trees will eventually become bare. (There should also be a surplus of crunchy leaves for me to step on) . I'll get to go home in a few weeks for Thanksgiving and it's the prelude to Christmas and New Years.

It's weird, but when I think of November, I have a vivid image in my mind. It's hard to explain. It's like an orange-redish tinted field, with pumpkins and brownish grass. I also get the feeling of warmth. Not like summer heat though. More like, snuggling under blankets, or wearing a hoodie or sweater until the heater finally kicks in. It's a good feeling.